{"id":176796,"date":"2026-02-07T18:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=176796"},"modified":"2026-02-07T18:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:25:16","slug":"warriors-fill-one-open-roster-spot-with-pat-spencer-reportedly-among-teams-eyeing-veteran-free-agent-point-guard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/07\/warriors-fill-one-open-roster-spot-with-pat-spencer-reportedly-among-teams-eyeing-veteran-free-agent-point-guard\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors Fill One Open Roster Spot With Pat Spencer, Reportedly Among Teams Eyeing Veteran Free Agent Point Guard"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Golden State Warriors<\/a> are among 18 teams with an open roster spot. The Warriors are also among the six teams that will need to add at least one player before the NBA All-Star break concludes. Who are the Warriors interested in?<\/p>\n

Warriors Fill One Open Roster Spot With Pat Spencer, Reportedly Among Teams Eyeing Veteran Free Agent Point Guard<\/h2>\n

Golden State enters tonight’s game against<\/a> the Los Angeles Lakers extremely shorthanded. The Warriors<\/a> have ruled out five of their 16 active players, with Stephen Curry<\/a> and Kristaps Porzingis<\/a> among those ruled out. Of the players ruled out, four are capable ballhandlers, though, on the positive, Brandin Podziemski<\/a> is probable after dealing with an illness.<\/p>\n

Those injuries leave the Warriors shorthanded in the backcourt with Pat Spencer<\/a>, De’Anthony Melton<\/a>, Gary Payton Jr<\/a>., Podziemski, Moses Moody<\/a>, Will Richard<\/a>, and Draymond Green<\/a> as players who can initiate the offense. Melton and Spencer are the only true point guards of the bunch.<\/p>\n

Steph Curry is also projected to miss the Warriors’ final two games before the All-Star break, as is Seth Curry<\/a>. As a result of the injuries — both Curry brothers and Melton are injury-prone — the Warriors are possibly looking for backcourt help.<\/p>\n

What Will The Warriors Do With The Open Roster Spots?<\/h3>\n

According to NBA Insider Jake Fischer<\/a>, the Warriors are going to fill one of the open spots with Spencer. Fischer added that the Warriors are also interested in signing free agent Lonzo Ball<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“As the Warriors are working to convert two-way guard Pat Spencer to a roster spot, Golden State also has its sights set on adding Lonzo Ball via the buyout market, sources say, Fischer tweeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Utah waived Ball on February 5th after the Jazz acquired him along with future second-round selections from Cleveland. Fellow NBA Insider Marc Stein<\/a> reported that Ball is expected to land in the Western Conference. However, the Warriors are not the only team pursuing Ball, as the Denver Nuggets are a potential landing spot for the 28-year-old, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“As the NBA buyout market takes shape, league sources told ClutchPoints, Siegel tweeted earlier this afternoon. “T<\/span><\/span>hat two teams have emerged as serious suitors for Lonzo Ball: the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets. Both teams are looking to add an experienced ball-handler in their backcourt.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Patrick Breen, Arizona Republic via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p><\/h4>\n

How Lonzo Ball Fits With the Warriors?<\/h4>\n

Ball is an elite playmaker and ballhandler who continues to struggle with his shot. He is also an excellent defender. The 6-5 lead guard has shot below 34% from the field over the last two years. He makes about 1.5 threes a game during this stretch, though only shooting them at a 31.2% clip.<\/p>\n

Ball projects as an ideal fit in Steve Kerr’s<\/a> read-and-react offense due to his exceptional court vision and as a low-usage passer who doesn’t hold the ball. While Ball still thrives in transition, he is no longer a creator in the halfcourt. Plus, Green and Podziemski do similar things as ball offensively.<\/p>\n

Ball fits the Warriors’ defensive scheme, which is to narrow driving lanes, force late decisions, and turn possessions into reads rather than actions. Ball is still an excellent team defender\u2014thanks to his high IQ and instincts\u2014, but he is no longer a stopper, and fouling is a concern due to his limited lateral movement.<\/p>\n

Golden State is $3.5 million from being hardcapped at the second apron. So, the Warriors definitely can afford him. However, he is a better fit for the Nuggets, and they can pay him more if there is a bidding war. Besides, the Warriors could use another reliable scorer or offensive rebounder more than Ball.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there is concern over Ball’s medical history.<\/p>\n

“Multiple teams have requested to review the medical of Lonzo Ball to decide on signing the new free-agent point guard, league sources tell me,” NBA insider Chris Haynes<\/a> tweeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p><\/h3>\n

Why did the Warriors promote Pat Spencer?<\/h3>\n

Spencer did ultimately have his two-way contract converted to a standard deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Golden State Warriors are signing two-way guard Pat Spencer to a contract for the rest of the season, Mark Bartelstein and Ross Aroyo of <\/span>PrioritySports <\/span>tell ESPN,” Charania tweeted.<\/p>\n

Spencer, in his third season with the team, has played well for the Warriors. Spencer has started five games this year, averaging 14.6 points along with 5.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Overall, he has compiled shooting splits of 42.3\/43.1\/83.3. He has scored in double-figures in 11 of his 35 appearances and has produced one double-double.<\/p>\n

Spencer was out of two-way games, which is why the Warriors had to promote him. NBA capologist Yozzi Gozlan<\/a> said Spencer will receive the prorated minimum salary of $857,804 under his standard contract this season. If the Warriors didn’t convert his contract, he would have been restricted to playing for the Warriors’ G-League club in Santa Cruz, or they would have had to waive him. Spencer will be a restricted free agent this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Spencer being promoted, the Warriors have an open two-way spot. Chance McMillan<\/a>, Tavion Kinsley<\/a>, and Ja’Vier Francis<\/a> are in-house possibilities. All three players are playing with Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Golden State Warriors are among 18 teams with an open roster spot. The Warriors are also among the six teams that will need to add at least one player before the NBA All-Star break concludes. Who are the Warriors interested in? Warriors Fill One Open Roster Spot With Pat Spencer, Reportedly Among Teams Eyeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":176806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,20,2,25,26,62,3],"tags":[1593,667,50373,48,528],"class_list":["post-176796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-featured","category-warriors","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-deanthony-melton","tag-lonzo-ball","tag-pat-spencer","tag-stephen-curry","tag-steve-kerr"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176796"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176809,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176796\/revisions\/176809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}